Apparatus for indicating the cycles of internal-combustion engines



June 15,1926. 1,5s9, 111

A. J. CARR A'PPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE CYCLES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 14, 1 925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l iii 14 I 45 w USA/- %9 2%? w K5 Ii MI. WlTNESSES INVENTOR (f/046,4. Amos" J. Carr ATTORNEYS June 15 1926. 1,589,111

. A. J. CARR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE CYCLES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 14, 1525 2 SheetsSheet 2 WITNESSES INVENTOR Amds r]. Carr I BY ATTORNEYS Patented June 15, 1926.

9 UNITED STATES ,AmosJAY calm, or nannoa, calunzomz.

arrana'rus non mnrca'rme Erma CYCLES-01' INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed November This invention relates to devices for instructing a motorist or mechanic the various cycles of the different pistons of an engine.

An object of the" invention is the provision of a device .which Whenbperatcd will disclose the yarious strokes of the. engine pistons and the positions of the intake and exhaust valves of the various cylinders.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device having a movable endless curtain with indications adapted to be" viewed through aplurality of windows disclosing the firing order, the exhaust, intake and compression strokes of the various pis-' tons, in cooperation with the positions of the intake and exhaust valves at the strokes.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, in view of the accompanying drawing forming a part of the speci-.

fication; nevertheless it, is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the dis-- closure, being susceptible of such changes and modifications which shall define no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the device constructed according to the princi- 30 ples of my invention.

1 Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figure'3 is a longitudinal vertical taken. along the line 3-3,of Fig. 1.

' Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken The lower ends of the columns are cut away to rovide bearing pockets 17. The upper cm? of column 15 is also. provided with a- A shaft19 having a roller 20 rigidly secured thereto is mounted for rotation in es'21 forming bearing in the columns 15 and 16. -A. knurled knob 22 on the end of the shaft is for the purpose of rota ing section mg mechanismand end columns 15 and 16;

14, 1925. Serial in. 69,168.

the shaft. A collar 23 secured to the shaft and located in the pocket 18 maintains the shaft in position. The roller 20 is located in the chamber 14.

A second roller 24 carried by a shaft 25 is disposed at the lower end of the chamber 14 and in spaced relation with the roller 20.

The ends of the shaft 25 are rotatabl mounted in bearings 26 slidable .on rods 2 in the pockets 17. A spring 28 on eachrod has one end abutting the upper end ofthe pocket while the other end abuts a bearing 26. The spring forces the shaft 25 and roller 24 downwardly for maintaining an endless curtain"29 under tension. The columns 15 and 16 are provided with elongated slots 30 where the ends of the shaft 25 pass through the block so that the shaft may be forced downwardlyby the springs 28 to take up any slack in the curtain.

Gooperating w'i h the springs 28 for aiding in maintaining the curtain under the proper tension is a transverse bar 31 secured to the rear cover plate13 and located within the chamber 14. The front edge 32 is roundso ed and presses against the rear portion ofr" the endless curtain so that said rear portion} of the curtain when engaged by the bar is forced forwardly in close but sliding con-'5 tact with the front portion of the curtainso thatall portions of the curtain sliding over the bar will .be maintained in close association with a plurality of windows 32, 33, 34 "and 35 formed in the'front cover 12. These windows are numbered from 1 to 4 inclusive and which numbers represent the four cylinders or pistons of an internal combustionengine. Aplurality of pairs of windows 37. and 38 in the form of slits aredisposed inhorizontal alinement above the windows 32 to 35 inclusive and have letters E andI respectively disposed above said windows for viewing the curtain so that it may be determined by inspection of colored spaces. on the curtain which of the intake and exhaust valves are operated during particular cycles of the engine. .The letters E and Ionthe cover 12 designate respectively the exhaust and intake valves. i

' The curtain is cutaway as shown'to provide elongated slots .39 and groups of substantiall square spaces 40, 41, 42 and 43 arrange in horizontal rowsso that the'two spaces and 41 of each group on the outer Ill face of the curtain, bearing the letters C and E respectively, and the two spaces 42 and 43 of each group on the inner face of the curtain, bearing the letters F and I, will be disposed simultaneously at the four windows 32 to 35 inclusive in the cover 12.

Half of the spaces 42 and 43 are black and represent through the letters F and I respectively, which are in white, the firing and intake strokes of the two of the pistons of the engine, while the spaces 40 and 41 which are also black with the letters 0 and E in white, designate respectively the compression and exhaust strokes of the remaining two pistons.

Certain strips ofthe curtain are colored black as at 45 while other strips are white as at -16. The white and black strips are arranged in such an order that they, will be moved behind the windows 37 and 38 as groups of the spaces 40 to 43 inclusive are located before the windows 32 to 35 inclusive. The white strips 16 appearing before the windows 37 and 38 indicate which of the intake and exhaust valves are open while the black when visible through said windows indicate that such valves are closed.

The operation of my device is as follows:

As shown in Fig. 1, the order of the strokes of the cycles of the four unitsof the engine are disclosed before windows 32 to 35 inclusive, such that cylinder 1 has a firv ing stroke; cylinder 2 has compression; cylinder 3 is exhausting, and cylinder 4: is receiving a fresh charge on the intake stroke. Inspecting windows 38 and 37 on, opposite sides of window 35 white appears beforewindow'38 showing the intake valve of cylinder 4 open and the exhaust valve 37 appearing dark indicates that the exhaust valve is closed. Since cylinder 3 is exhausting, the exhaust valve is open and white appears at window 37 which is located at the right of window 34. The remaining windows 37 and 38 appear dark since the valves represented by such windows are closed.

Revolving knob 22 a half turn the succeeding strokes of all the pistons are illustrated together with the respective valves of the cylinders. Cylinder 1 is exhausting; cylinder 2 is firing; cylinder 3 is receiving a fresh charge on the intake stroke, and cylinder 4 has compression. The exhaust valve of cylinder 1 and the intake valve of cylinder 3 are open, the remaining valves being closed.

The positions of the valves are indicated :by white appearing before window 37 of cylinder '1 and window 38 of cylinder 3, with black appearing before the remaining windows 37 and 38 and indicating closed positions of the respective valves.

By repeated half turns of the knobs 22, the remaining strokes of the pistons of the various cylinderswill be correctly disclosed together with the proper open or closed positions of the exhaust and intake valves at such strokes.

By such a device, a student may readily learn the operations of an engine through the four cycles without any unnecessary study.

The bottom bar ll is secured to the lower free ends of the columns l5 and 16 in any approved manner as by-screws. I

A sheet 50 of transparent material is located inside of cover 12 and held in place by the securing means for said cover to close the windows to prevent foreign matter from soiling the curtain.

While I have shown the curtain made of opaque material with portions cut away so that the indicia on the inner surface of the curtain may be viewed when passing certain of the windows, the same effects will be had by employing a transparent curtain with the various sections drawn to blocks of the desired size and covered with an opaque pigment and with the letters located upon the opaque sections. Thus it will be seen that thev indicia printed or otherwise formed on the inner wall of the curtain may be viewed through the transparent sections of the curtains which have not been treated in the same manner as has been described for the construction of the opaque curtain with elongated slots so that the indicia will be visible.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described com prising a casing, a roller, adapted to be positively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow an inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine.

2. A device of the class described comprising a casing, a roller, adapted to be positively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trainedon the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow an inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alinedwith the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, part of theindicia being disposed on the outer face of the curtain the remaining portion being placed upon the inner face of the curtain, said our tain being cut away at predetermined points so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain may be exposed to the windows.

3. A device of the class described comprising a casing, a roller, adapted to be posineous strokes of the various units of the engine, part of the indicia being disposed on the outer face of the curtain the remaining portion being placed upon the inner face of the curtain, said curtain being cut away at predetermined points so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain may be exposed to the windows, said rollers providing in spaced relation a front and rear section of the curtain, and ,mcans for retaining always a transverse'portion of the rear section of the curtain in close association with front section and in line with the windows so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain will pass in close contact with the windows. a

4. A device of the class described comprising 1a casing, a roller, adapted to be positive the riven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in thecasing to allow an inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multicylinder engine, the, curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, partof the indicia being disposed on the outer face of the curtain the remaining portion bein placed uponthe inner face of the curtain, said curtain being cut away at predetermined points so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain maybe exposed to the windows, the indicia on the outer surface of the curtain representing the compression and exhaust strokes while the indicia on the inner surface represents the firin and intake strokes.- f

5. A evice of. the class described comprising a casing, a w roller ada ted to be positively driven, an idling 'ro ler spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain .trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing-to allow an inspection of the curtain, each-window .representin'ga unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, said casing being provided with windows at each side of the engine windows and representing the intake and exhaust valves of each unit, said curtain having white and black strips adapted to be placed before the valve windows, the white appearing before the valve windows indicating that" such valve is open, the black driven,- an idling roller spaced from.

appearin'g before said valve windowsindicatingthat the valve'is closed.

6. A device of the class described comprising a casing, a roller, ada ted to be positively driven, an idling ro ler spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a pluralityof windows in the casin to allow an HISPGCtlOIl of the curtain, eac window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when;

alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, means for placing a tension on the idling roller for maintaining the curtain taut.

7. A device of the class described co1n prising a casing, a roller, adapted to be positively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow an inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylindcr engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, part of the indicia being disposed on the outer face of the curtain the remaining portion being placed upon the inner face of the curtain, said curtain being cut away'at predetermined points so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain may be exposed to the windows, said rollers providing in spaced relation a front and rear section of the curtain, a' b'ar secured to and located within the casing for, retaining always a transverse portion of the rear section of the curtain in close association with front section and in line with the windows so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain will pass in close contact with i the windows. 1

8. A device of'the class" described, comprising a casing, a roller adapted to be ositively driven, an idling. roller spaced romthe driven roller, an endless curtaintrained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow inspection of .the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multicylinder engine, the curtain-being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes ofthe various units of the engine, said windows being arranged in a horizontal row. t

9. A device of the class described, comprising a casing, a rollerhdapted to be ositively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various units of the engine, said roller maintaining two sections of the curtain in spaced relation, with one section in engagement with the window, the indicia being arranged on the sections of the curtain in pairs so that one pair of indicia on one section is exhibited simultaneously with a pair of indicia on the other section.

10. A device of the class described, comprising a casing, a roller adapted to be positively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the various-units of the engine, said roller maintaining two sections of the curtain in spaced relation, with one section in engagement with the window, the indicia being arranged on the sections of the curtain in pairs so that one pair of indicia on one section is exhibited simultaneously with a pair of indicia on the other section, the curtain being provided with openings in line with the indicia on one section through which the indicia on that section may be viewed and a bar for forcing said section in engagement with the other section at the windows in the casing.

11. A device of the class described, comprising a casing, a roller adapted to be positively driven, an idling roller spaced from the driven roller, an endless curtain trained on the rollers, a plurality of windows in the casing to allow inspection of the curtain, each window representing a unit of a multi-cylinder engine, the curtain being provided with indicia which when alined with the windows will disclose the simultaneous strokes of the Various units of the engine, part of the indicia being disposed on the outer face of the curtain, the remaining portion being placed upon the inner face of the curtain, said curtain being cut away at predetermined points so that the indicia on the inner face of the curtain may be exposed to the windows, the casing adjacent the windows being provided with openings, said curtain being provided with a color scheme appearing at the openings simultaneously with the indicia to further aid in indicating the conditions existing in' all the cylinders of an engine.

12. A device of the class described comprising an endless curtain provided with a plurality of openings, said curtain being provided on the inner and outer faces thereof representing the simultaneous existing conditions in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine, the indicia on the inner face of the curtain appearing through the openings, means for alining the indicia on the inner face with the indicia on the outer face, to indicate the existing conditions in the cylinders.

AMOS JAY CARR. 

